Birding

I turned my bird bath into a bird feeder. It was an accident. The bird bath dried up and I watched a little finch land in it and start picking at whatever was lying about. I had some extra bird seed left, so I took it out and poured it into the dry bird bath. Here they came, the avian dinosaurs. A summer tanager. A cardinal. A house finch. They landed. They ate. They left. I’m going grocery shopping today. I think I’ll pick up an inexpensive bag of feed and see what happens.

I think the key to avoiding a house sparrow invasion might be feeding on a random basis. Here today, gone tomorrow. I can feed the passing stranger who prefers loneliness and private travel. I’ll pay dividends to the solitary soul who happens by rather than put daily feed in the trough and attract the raucous pig-like sparrows who come in a hoard and eat with a ravenous appetite. And they will come to a daily feast because word travels fast. Better, I think, to be intermittent.

Of course, since I like birds perhaps I should go walking about and find them in their native habitat. Take my glasses and my books and see what I can see. I’ve had one such book since the mid-80s with discovery notes in the back. Times and places duly noted. I can tell you from memory of my first sighting of a Cedar Waxwing, a Painted Bunting, and Vermillion Flycatcher. A good reminder, I think, that sitting around and waiting for the world to come to me might be ill advice. There are plenty of things for a solitary soul to do in a wide and varied world.

John W Wilson

Gatewood Press is a small, family owned press located in the Hill Country of Texas.

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Garden Paths